Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s timeless message

The words and ideals of the March on Washington still ring true 50 years later

August 27, 2013

Today is being widely celebrated as the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legendary "I Have a Dream" speech.

That speech, one of the most stirring in the annals of American oratory, certainly deserves to be remembered – but for more than just its final stanzas, in which Dr. King detailed his dream of equality and brotherhood.

In an earlier passage, Dr. King spoke to the black community about the principles that he hoped would guide their future: "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."

Just as the final paragraphs of that speech have come to overshadow the oratory that came before, Dr. King's speech seems to be the only element that most Americans can identify from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

A dozen speakers took to the podium that day whose words have been largely lost to the history books. But their words and their perspectives deserve to be preserved as well, because just as Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" remains relevant a half-century later, so too do their words still resonate.

Whitney Young, representing the National Urban League, stressed that Civil Rights are not an issue for black people, but for all Americans, because if one demographic group is denied its basic rights, the integrity of the entire nation is diminished: "That we meet here today in common cause, not as white people nor as black people nor as members of any particular group, is a tribute to those Americans who dare to live up and to practice our democratic ideals and our religious heritage."

Roy Wilkins, representing the NAACP, underscored the need for elected officials to follow the lead of those whom they represent – for the members of Congress to show as much courage as "the nine children of Little Rock" who integrated Arkansas' public schools. Wilkins saluted the Democrats and Republicans who were working toward the Civil Rights Act, and he added: "We even salute those from the South who want to vote for us but don't dare to do so, and we say to those people, 'Just give us a little time, and we will emancipate you!' "

Rabbi Joachim Prinz, representing the American Jewish Congress, drew his lesson from his memories of coming of age in Germany at the time of Hitler's rise: "The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence. A great people which had created a great civilization had become a nation of silent onlookers. They remained silent in the face of hate, in the face of brutality and in the face of mass murder. America must not become a nation of onlookers. America must not remain silent."

After Dr. King spoke, the 10 demands of the march were read to the crowd, calling not just for Civil Rights legislation, but for school desegregation, for equality in the workplace, for decent housing and the protection of voting rights.

And finally, Bayard Rustin – one of the event's organizers – had the crowd pledge with him to not let the ideals of the march dissipate as the demonstrators boarded their buses and returned home. He knew then, as we still know now, that while battles have been won, the larger struggle will continue.

Mr. Rustin urged the marchers to take full advantage of the freedoms granted by the First Amendment, to exercise the right to vote for which they had fought, and to never lose sight of their larger goal: "social peace through social justice."